That One Time Axl Rose Stepped In For AC/DC

By: UNKLEF777 (originally appeared on the original THC site in 2018)

In early 2016, AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson took a break from the band upon doctors’ orders for his worsening hearing condition. AC/DC had to postpone their ongoing tour to figure things out.

Earlier before it, the band already suffered a setback when original guitarist Malcolm Young had to sit out of tours due to his serious illness (he passed away from dementia complications in late 2017). They also had to let original drummer Phil Rudd take a hiatus due to legal troubles.

80s-90s alumni drummer Chris Slade returned, along with the Young Brothers’ nephew Stevie Young. Stevie was already part of their touring posse, having jammed and hung out with the band on tour as early as ’79. He also filled in for Malcolm in their 1988 US tour. He looked like his uncle, and played as great and as skilled as him. No one noticed as he and the band rocked their millions of fans out.

However, without Brian Johnson, this wasn’t AC/DC. Who the hell was going to fill in these big shoes? You just can’t pull off an Arnel Pineda type thing here on such short notice. You also can’t just pull in anyone.

AC/DC needed someone who was an established pro with the same presence, charisma, and most of all, a killer, super high-pitched, powerful screeching voice, who will also do justice to their songs. That’s a very tall order, and it seemed impossible. Time was running out.

The rest of the tour has been set, venues were already booked, show promoters have organised massive setups everywhere in the world. This instance showed how an AC/DC tour’s fined-tuned system cannot experience such a bad glitch. Angus Young probably had to sit for a minute, light up joints, and make a good decision and not disappoint their worldwide legion of fans waiting for them.

News reports and paparazzi photos started appearing on the internet from the supposedly secret location where AC/DC were jamming. It was none other than Axl Rose who will be stepping in to sing for the band.

This seemed like a dangerous situation. Already, people had started to judge the potential outcome of this seemingly disastrous combination. Everyone went for Axl and his previous reputation. Haters underestimated him, forgetting that he possessed some of the most powerful heavy metal pipes.

It was all preemptive “Double Talkin’ Jive”. The press anticipated cancelled shows, disorganisation, disappointment, and such. But that’s the putting the cart before the horse kind of thinking. Axl Rose proved them wrong.

With the proliferation of live videos on YouTube from European arenas to Madison Square Garden, Axl Rose rose to the occasion. His voice was perfect for both Bon Scott and Brian Johnson era tunes, while using his trademark voice and attitude, but only on the sheer intensity of his vocals, not of his former tour behavior. He was on time all the time, and performed like he was already playing in the band for years. AC/DC after all was one of his top favorite bands of all time.

Angus made the right decision and saved the band and the rest of the tour. Axl saved AC/DC from derailing a tour into complete disaster, while rocking out their rabid worldwide fanbase. Of course many haters showed their disapproval on reddit and many online forums.

But on live YouTube videos, the majority consensus of die-hard AC/DC fans was a landslide win of approval and praise, even from those who admittedly weren’t fans of Axl. Some even commented he sang AC/DC songs better than his own songs in Guns N’ Roses.

Despite rumours of new material featuring Rose circling post-tour, it never happened. Rose resumed his work with GN’R, and soon announced the “Not In This Lifetime” reunion tour with OG members Slash and Duff.

AC/DC soon reunited with Phil, Cliff (who quit after the tour) and of course, Brian. They defied all the odds, and that legendary tour is now part of rock and roll history.